Marine vessel having development and recovery device

ABSTRACT

A hull of a marine vessel has a stern and a bow, the former being provided with a cut-out which extends longitudinally of the hull in direction towards the bow. A load-moving device is located in the cut-out, and is mounted for pivotal movement about axes which extend transversely of the elongation of the hull and are movable relative to the latter, and also for shifting movement in the direction of elongation of the hull.

United States Patent Lucht 1 Sept. 23, 1975 [5 1 MARINE VESSEL HAVING DEVELOPMENT 1093.851 6/1963 Kummerman 114/435 AND RECOVERY DEVICE 3180777 10/1966 3,503,357 3/1970 Inventor: Wilhelm h Nordenham. 3,536,023 10/1970 Bascom 11 114/435 Gfirmany FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assign: Akfiengeseuscha" weselwi 585 2/l926 Australia 114/435 Bremen, Germany 22] Fil d; Nov. 5 973 Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Charles E. Frankfort [21] Appl' 413076 Attorney. Agent, or FirmMichael S. Striker [30] Foreign Application Priority Data ABSTRACT Nov. II, [972 Germany 2255438 A hull of a marine vessel has a stern and a bow, the former being provided with a cut-out which extends [52] US. Cl. t. 114/415 longitu inally f the hull in direction towards the bow. [51] Int. Cl. i. B638 35/44 A loa mo ing d i e is l c in h an i [58] Field of Search t. [14/665 F, 43,5, 235 R mounted for pivotal movement about axes which extend transversely of the elongation of the hull and are [56] References Cited movable relative to the latter, and also for shifting UNITED STATES PATENTS movement in the direction of elongation of the hull. 2,188,554 1/1940 Marianne ll4/43v5 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures /0 5 .6 4 1 A3 7 6 P P f L US Patent Sept. 23,1975

FIG. 4

FIG. 3

MARINE VESSEL HAVING DEVELOPMENT AND RECOVERY DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a marine vessel, and more particularly to a marine vessel provided with a load-moving device intended for deploying objects into the water surrounding the vessel, and recovering such objects and returning them on board.

Marine vessels provided with a cut-out in the stern of the hull are already known, in particular from fishery applications. Fishing vessels provided with such a cutout are constructed in this manner so that the fishing net can be deployed from the cut-out and can be recovered through the same. The cut-out is usually bounded by a bottom wall portion which has an inclined surface, on which the net can be allowed to slide into the water or over which it can slide as it is being drawn back on board. The proposal has also been made to provide the bottom of the cut-out with the rollers or the like on which the net can slide.

A further proposal from the prior art suggests that the bottom of the cut-out be formed by a chain which is mounted and operates in the manner of a conveyor, to thereby reduce the wear and tear on the net as it is being deployed or as it is being recovered.

Another application of cut-outs in the stern of a marine vessel hull is in research ships which are used for marine research, including exploration of the ocean bottom. The purpose in these applications is to deploy scientific equipment, such as probes or the like, through the cut-out and to recover them in the same manner. This type of equipment is highly susceptible to damage from impacts with the walls bounding the cutout and it has been found that such damage does in fact frequently occur when the equipment is deployed through or recovered through the cut-out, Many attempts have been made to avoid the damage, for instance by having the vessel carry out complicated ma' neuvers during deploying or recovering of the equipment. by using fenders, or in various other ways. However, none of them have been fully satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly. it is a general object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide, in a marine vessel having a cut-out in the stern of its hull. an arrangement which facilitates the deploying and recovery of loads through the cutout.

Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a marine vessel which is particularly suitable for scientific research purposes. and wherein damage to loads, such as scientific equipment or the like, which are being deployed through or recovered through the cut-out in the stern of the vessel hulls. is reliably avoided.

In keeping with the above objects. and with others which will become apparent hereafter. one feature of the invention resides in a marine vessel. and in particular in a combination comprising a hull having a stern and a bow. and a cut-out which is formed in the stern and extends longitudinally of the hull in direction toward the bow. A load-moving device is located in the cut-out, and mounting means mounts the device in the eutout for pivotal movement about axes which extend transversely of the elongation of the hull and are movable relative to the latter, and also for shifting movement in the direction of elongation of the hull.

It is advantageous if the device can be shifted in the direction of elongation of the bull when it is in an upper position in which it extends in substantial parallelism with the upper deck of the hull, and that when it is in a lower position in which it can discharge or receive objects, it will be located in a substantially vertical position and at least in part extend into the water surrounding the hull.

A device so constructed and provided on a marine vessel according to the present invention, makes it possible to place the object to be deployed onto the device when the latter is in the upper horizontal position, and then to move it for deploying purposes with the device as the latter moves to a vertical position. From that position the deploying can then take place in known manner, for instance by means of winches or the like. Of course, conversely the object can be engaged by the device which is in its vertical position while the object is still in the water, and can then be first lifted completely out of the water by the device and thereafter moved to the level of the upper deck of the hull and to a horizontal position. These possibilities permit a very careful handling of an object being deployed or being recovered, and thus avoid the objectionable damage which has heretofore so frequently been encountered during the deploying and recovery operations.

The recovery of the object from the water is facilitated if in its rearward vertical position the device extends to an appropriate depth into the water, in accommodation to the depth and position assumed by the object which is floating in the water.

In particular, the device according to the present invention can be readily accommodated to specific types of equipment, and if necessary differently configurated devices can be used, each able to deploy or recover a specific item of equipment, with these devices then being interchangeable one for the other. To obtain maximum versatility, it is advantageous if the device is of flat construction. for instance provided with or formed as a platform. Movement can be imparted to the device in various ways, but hydraulic motors are particularly advantageous because these permit the use of relatively large forces but yet a rather precise control. and are not readily influenced or damaged by the rough conditions encountered at sea.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in con ncction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal vertical section through the stern of a vessel provided with a cut-out;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear view of the vessel in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top-plan view of FIGS. I and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic top-plan view of the vessel provided with the arrangement in FIGS. 13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing in detail, and pointing firstly to FIG. 4, it will be seen that in that FIG. 1 and a deck 6 have diagrammatically illustrated a hull l of a marine vessel, which are provided at the stern of the vessel with a cut-out 2. The bow of the vessel is, of course, at the opposite end of the hull I from the stern.

FIGS. 1-3 show details of the arrangement according to the present invention. The vessel may for instance be intended for research purposes, and it will be seen that the cut-out 2 is located midway between the lateral sides of the hull and is provided with a bottom wall forming an inclined surface 3.

In accordance with the present invention this cut-out 2, which is known per se, is provided with a loadmoving device 4 which is of flat configuration in the illustrated embodiment. The device 4 is so mounted that it is pivotable about an axis extending transversely of the elongation of the hull (the longitudinal axis of the hull which extends from the bow to the stern) and is also movable in longitudinal direction of the hull.

The movement of the device 4 is made possible by providing rollers 5 or the like which are mounted at the lateral sides of the device 4 and extend into corresponding guides 7 formed or provided on the hull I. A guide 7 is provided which extends in parallelism with the upper deck of the hull I and in which the forward end of the device 4 (the end which faces towards the bow) is guided so that the device 4 can move longitudinally of the hull to any desired extent. For this purpose the forward end of the device 4 is provided with a roller 5 which is engaged in the guide 7 and which advantageously is configurated as a gear which extends at opposite lateral sides of the device 4 into teeth formed in the guide 7. In this case, the roller 5 or the guide 7 can be connected with a drive 100 to effect the displacement of the device 4 in longitudinal direction of the hull,

The device 4 is also mounted for pivotal and shifting displacement about an axis 8 which is located in the region of that end of the device 4 which faces away from the bow of the hull. FIG. I shows that this axis can become displaced between an upper position shown in FIG. 1 in which the device 4 extends in parallelism with the upper deck 6 of the hull, and a lower position in which the device 4 is inclined rearwardly and down wardly, as shown in broken lines. To obtain this pivotal movement about the axis 8 the device 4 may be provided with a loosely turnable roller 9 which is formed at its opposite axial ends with journals l2 engaged in guides 14 provided at the opposite lateral sides of the cut-out 2. These journals [2 can be raised or lowered by an appropriate drive 10 and means 13, and the device 4 may loosely rest on this roller 9. Of course. the device 4 is also pivotablc about the axis defined by the gear 5 (there can also be provided two gears 5 located at opposite lateral sides of the device 4 instead of one which extends from one to the other lateral side), so that the device 4 can be readily displaced between the horizontal position shown in FIG. 1, and the inclined position shown in FIG. 1, and can also be shifted forwardly and rearwardly of the hull as shown in FIG. 1; the movement of the device 4 in the forward and rearward directions is accomplished by actuating the drive 10a, while the raising and lowering of the journals 12 by means of the drive 10 and means 13 results in commensurate raising and lowering of the end of the device 4 which is spaced from the rollers 5. Advantageously, the drives 10 and 10a may be hydraulic motors of a conventional type.

The forward and rearward movement of the device 4, in combination with the raising and lowering of the journals 12, results in pivoting of the device 4 about the axis of the rollers 5, and also in pivoting and sliding displacement of the device 4 with respect to the axis of the roller 8, as the device 4 moves between its horizontal and any of its inclined positions.

It will be appreciated that in the horizontal position of the device 4, the latter receives the object to be deployed, or else it is ready to have the recovered object removed from it. In the inclined position, which can of course range to a vertical orientation as also shown in FIG. 1, the object is either ready to be deployed or else, if it is already in the water, the object is to be secured to the device 4 for recovery purposes. The object itself has not been illustrated in the drawing, and of course it will be understood that appropriate securing means will be provided for securing such an object to the device 4 for deployment or for recovery. Such securing means are. however, entirely conventional.

The device 4 has been illustrated in form of a platform in the drawing, but this should be understood to be exemplary only. The device can actually be con strueted in many different ways and configurations, but it is advantageously of flat configuration because this increases its versatility of use. It could evidently be a tubular frame or the like, rather than a solid platform. The drive for raising and lowering the device 4 has been illustrated in form of two hydraulic motors 10, [0a which are shown diagrammatically only because they are well known per se in this field. Evidently. chain lifts, chain drives or the like could also be used in their place.

It should be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing in any way from the intent of the invention. Thus, the device 4 could be given a special configuration to make it possible to deploy or recover objects while the vessel is in motion. One possible modification provides for that portion of the device 4 which in the vertical position thereof, (see FIG. I) is below the water to be provided with pivotable flaps l 1 which can be moved by way of any appropriate means readily apparent to those skilled in the art. to the illustrated position shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 so that the water (whose direction of flow is indicated by the two arrows in FIG. 1 can readily flow through the device, but which can be moved to the solid-line position also shown in FIG. 1 so that they provide an uninterrupted surface for an object to be recovered or deployed. This arrangement is particularly suitable if the device is to be used when the vessel is actually in mo tion, and the flaps II can facilitate the deployment and recovery of objects by utilizing the streaming water. When an object is to be recovered, for instance, the engagement of the object with the device 4 is facilitated by appropriate maneuvering of the flaps ll so that behind the device 4 (as seen with respect to the direction of forward movement of the vessel) an eddy of water will form which tends to draw the object against the device 4. Convers. the flow of water through the device 4 when the flaps are in the open position in which they permit such a flow, helps to mow the object being deployed, away from the device 4.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of constructions, differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a marine vessel, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis. the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. A device for deploying and recovering objects to be used in a marine vessel having a hull and a deck and an elongated cut-out in the hull and the deck comprising in combination, an elongated load-moving device having two longitudinally spaced end portions; means for mounting said load-moving device in said cut-out for movement longitudinally thereof and for pivoting relative thereto between a first end position in which said load-moving device extends longitudinally of said cut-out and substantially horizontally so that the objeets can be placed on said load-moving device and removed therefrom. and a second end position in which said load-moving device extends substantially vertically and into the body of water on which the vessel floats so that the objects can be deployed and recovered, said mounting means including first guide means extending substantially horizontally and longitudinally of said cutout, first roller means pivoted on one of said end portions of said load-moving device and engaging said first guide means, second roller means extending substantially horizontally and transversely of said cutout at the other end portion of said load-moving device when the latter is in said first end position and supporting the same, and second guide means for guiding said second roller means in a substantially vertical direction; and first drive means for moving said first roller means in said first guide means so that said one end portion of said load-moving device is displaced longitudinally of said cut-out and said other end portion slides over said second roller means, and second drive means for independently moving said second roller means in said second guide means so that said other end portion of said load-moving device is displaced in said vertical direction and said load-moving device pivots about said first roller means as it moves between said first end position in which it extends substantially horizontally, and said second end position in which it extends substantially vertically.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said device is of a flat shape.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said drive means comprises hydraulic motor means. 

1. A device for deploying and recovering objects to be used in a marine vessel having a hull and a deck and an elongated cut-out in the hull and the deck comprising, in combination, an elongatEd load-moving device having two longitudinally spaced end portions; means for mounting said load-moving device in said cut-out for movement longitudinally thereof and for pivoting relative thereto between a first end position in which said load-moving device extends longitudinally of said cut-out and substantially horizontally so that the objects can be placed on said loadmoving device and removed therefrom, and a second end position in which said load-moving device extends substantially vertically and into the body of water on which the vessel floats so that the objects can be deployed and recovered, said mounting means including first guide means extending substantially horizontally and longitudinally of said cut-out, first roller means pivoted on one of said end portions of said load-moving device and engaging said first guide means, second roller means extending substantially horizontally and transversely of said cutout at the other end portion of said load-moving device when the latter is in said first end position and supporting the same, and second guide means for guiding said second roller means in a substantially vertical direction; and first drive means for moving said first roller means in said first guide means so that said one end portion of said load-moving device is displaced longitudinally of said cut-out and said other end portion slides over said second roller means, and second drive means for independently moving said second roller means in said second guide means so that said other end portion of said load-moving device is displaced in said vertical direction and said loadmoving device pivots about said first roller means as it moves between said first end position in which it extends substantially horizontally, and said second end position in which it extends substantially vertically.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said device is of a flat shape.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said drive means comprises hydraulic motor means. 